A new knitted silica fibre catalyst was introduced into liquid-phase hydrog
enation of organic compounds. The fibre catalyst combines the advantages of
catalyst slurries and large catalyst particles: diffusional limitations ar
e suppressed and the catalyst is immobile, Nickel-impregnated silica fibres
were used in the hydrogenation of citral to citronellal and citronellol in
a tubular glass reactor where the catalyst was packed in two layers. The l
iquid phase was recirculated while the gas phase was flowing concurrently t
hrough the reactor to the vent. The highest selectivities to the desired pr
oduct, citronellol, exceeded 90%. The catalyst performance was competitive
with a conventional crushed nickel catalyst. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.
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